Investigation Finds Suspected Fixing in 680 Soccer Matches





THE HAGUE — Criminal organizations have infiltrated the highest levels of European and international soccer, threatening the very integrity of the sport, global law enforcement officials said on Monday as they unveiled the results of a 19-month investigation that indicated that hundreds of people had been involved in match-fixing.




At least 425 people from more than 15 countries — including club and match officials, and current and former players — are suspected of conspiring in 680 matches on behalf of Asian criminal syndicates that made millions of dollars in profits by betting on the results, they said.


Those matches included qualifying games for both the World Cup and the European Cup, and two Champions League matches, including one in England.


“This is a sad day for European football, and more evidence of the corrupting influence of organized crime,” said Rob Wainwright, the director of Europol, which helped coordinate the investigation among European Union member states, Interpol and non-European nations.


Citing the doping scandal that has undermined public trust and interest in cycling, Mr. Wainwright warned that the problem must be tackled quickly or soccer would lose the trust of the public.


In all, 680 matches have been identified as suspect, officials said, including 300 outside Europe, primarily in Asia, Africa and Latin America.


It was not immediately clear how many of the matches identified were already known to the public or were the result of new discoveries.


Officials declined to identify any of the teams or individuals involved in the investigations, citing the need to guard the confidentiality of police procedures.


The officials, speaking to journalists at Europol headquarters, said that a joint team was created in July 2011 after investigators in several European countries came to realize that there was a major overlap between suspects in separate match-fixing inquiries.


A single criminal group, based in Asia, is behind most of the matches identified in the investigations, Europol and Interpol officials said, and an international arrest warrant has been issued seeking the extradition of the ringleader to Europe to face fraud and bribery charges.


Europol did not publicly identify the ringleader of the gang, but several knowledgeable law enforcement officials later said on the condition of anonymity that it was a Singapore-based man, known as Dan Tan. Mr. Tan has been implicated in match-fixing cases dating back at least to 1999, the officials said.


Asked about the level of international cooperation Europol was getting from other national authorities involved in enforcement of the warrant, Mr. Wainwright said, “I’m satisfied that Interpol is in active dialogue” with the other parties. “It’s important that all international arrest warrants are pursued.”


The officials repeatedly dodged questions from reporters seeking to learn just how many of the suspected match-fixing cases they announced on Monday were new.


German prosecutors, for example, have themselves previously identified dozens of cases and it was not clear how many of those were included in the tally. The country with the most cases identified by Europol was Turkey, with 79. Germany was next with 70, followed by Switzerland, with 41. The agency also reported cases in Belgium, Croatia, Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and Canada.


To rig the matches, officials said, the criminals operated a sophisticated organization, employing some people to deal with players and referees, others to handle money and place bets, others to carry out money laundering, on up to a strategic command at the top.


Any one match-rigging operation might have involved as many as 50 people in 10 countries, they said.


The actual business of rigging a match typically involves bribing players or a referee, or possibly both, in an effort to deliver a predetermined result. The Asian crime syndicates typically want to achieve a particular margin of victory, rather a precise outcome, officials said.


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The Future of BlackBerry 10 Sales Looks Hazy






Early sales figures from abroad suggest high demand for one of BlackBerry‘s two big comeback phones… in the struggling Canadian company’s strongest market. As the U.S. market remains on standby for sales and even ads, reports from both analysts and suppliers suggest sold-out new models in the United Kingdom, the first and only place the BlackBerry Z10 is available yet. “We believe Carphone Warehouse is seeing widespread sell-outs, while O2, Vodafone, Orange and EE are seeing robust demand,” Jefferies analyst Peter Misek writes. “We estimate sell-in to be at least several hundred thousand units,” he added. It’s not that these sales aren’t deserved — the gadget reviewers loved the touchscreen Z10, for the most part, and the full-keyboard Q10 model that also works with the new BlackBerry 10 OS isn’t on sale anywhere yet. But if any place would like a touchscreen BlackBerry, it would be the UK. Because the British may not have abandoned the smartphone keyboard, but they fell out of love it with a lot more slowly than Americans did  — BlackBerry held on to 12 percent of its market share there last year, compared to the 2 percent in the U.S. Unfortunately for the company formerly known as Research in Motion, the earliest signs suggest the Z10 may not change that lack of enthusiasm in the states.


RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About BlackBerry 10






The lack of stateside BlackBerry enthusiasm starts with American wireless carriers. U.S. customers can’t even buy the Z10 until sometime in March — we’ll be the last country to get it in this initial wave. The delay stems from a Federal Communications Commission approval process that will take weeks. While that might sound like a regulatory technicality, it may also reflect a lack of excitement to get the phone out there. None of the cellphone companies have started taking pre-sale orders, and all but one failed to provide an executive quote playing up the new BlackBerry, as PC Mag’s Sascha Segan pointed out. Sprint won’t even sell the Z10, opting to push out the more traditional Q10 and its signature keyboard when that phone starts to hit carriers in April. 


RELATED: Blackberry’s New OS Met With Resounding ‘Meh’


The Z10 sales delay could work in BlackBerry’s favor in one peculiar way — it should give consumers enough time to forget about the very weird, very desperate product unveiling. Still, two months is also enough time for initial hype to wear off, as other, newer phones get more and more attention — the much anticipated Samsung Galaxy SIV will supposedly come out around March as well. To keep Americans excited, BlackBerry has spent hundreds of millions on an ad campaign in the U.S., reports The Wall Street Journal. But the company’s new Super Bowl ad, which focused on all the things the new BlackBerry can’t do, has techies baffled:


RELATED: Look How Desperate the BlackBerry 10 Unveiling Event Actually Was


RELATED: RIM Says Sorry to Customers with Free Apps


“It’s just hard to see how you can introduce a new product without covering a single feature,” wrote The Verge’s T.C. Sotteck of the new spot. Lucky for BlackBerry, the ad was a one-time Super Sunday move. Its “Keep Moving” campaign, which focuses on what the phone can do, will debut today. The 60-second preview sampled over at The Verge sounds like it does a better job selling Z10′s features. “[The ad] featured a side-scrolling view of people moving through different variations on work and play: a nod to the company’s enterprise-focused heritage,” Sottech writes.


Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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Paul McCartney Rocks Out to Lil Wayne & More Super Bowl Party Sightings















02/04/2013 at 10:45 AM EST







Nancy Shevell, Paul McCartney and Lil Wayne


Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup; Gustavo Caballero/Getty


For Hollywood, Super Bowl weekend is one big party, and they don't disappoint.

On Saturday night, Lil Wayne performed at a GQ, Lacoste and Mercedes-Benz hosted party at the Elms Mansion in New Orleans. Among the fans on hand was model Kate Upton, who posed for photos in front of her GQ cover and stood on a couch to get a better view of Lil Wayne's show, an onlooker tells PEOPLE.

Even Paul McCartney and wife Nancy Shevell were spotted "rushing through the backstage area to catch the end of his performance," the source adds.

At Playboy's Super Bowl Party presented by Crown Royal, Neil Patrick Harris, Anna Faris and Jeremy Piven mingled in the VIP area.

David Arquette was also in attendance and couldn't hide his enthusiasm for B.o.B. – jumping on stage during his performance!

Later that night, the Audi Forum kept the party going with deejay sets by Solange Knowles and Diplo. Guests included Modern Family's Sofia Vergara, Stacy Keibler, Jeremy Renner, Chace Crawford, Hunger Games's Josh Hutcherson, Ashley Greene, Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul and more.

Knowles – who was dressed in all white – was overheard talking about how excited she was to see her sister BeyoncĂ©'s halftime show.

Keibler – who was once a Baltimore Ravens cheerleader – stopped by Vergara's table to say hello and pose for photos together. Later, Keibler and Paul they discovered they had a mutual pal and became fast friends. Meanwhile, Paul was also "excited" to see Crawford, who was having a guys night with Hutcherson, a source says.

– Jennifer Garcia and Patrick Gomez


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Bullying study: It does get better for gay teens


CHICAGO (AP) — It really does get better for gay and bisexual teens when it comes to being bullied, although young gay men have it worse than their lesbian peers, according to the first long-term scientific evidence on how the problem changes over time.


The seven-year study involved more than 4,000 teens in England who were questioned yearly through 2010, until they were 19 and 20 years old. At the start, just over half of the 187 gay, lesbian and bisexual teens said they had been bullied; by 2010 that dropped to 9 percent of gay and bisexual boys and 6 percent of lesbian and bisexual girls.


The researchers said the same results likely would be found in the United States.


In both countries, a "sea change" in cultural acceptance of gays and growing intolerance for bullying occurred during the study years, which partly explains the results, said study co-author Ian Rivers, a psychologist and professor of human development at Brunel University in London.


That includes a government mandate in England that schools work to prevent bullying, and changes in the United States permitting same-sex marriage in several states.


In 2010, syndicated columnist Dan Savage launched the "It Gets Better" video project to encourage bullied gay teens. It was prompted by widely publicized suicides of young gays, and includes videos from politicians and celebrities.


"Bullying tends to decline with age regardless of sexual orientation and gender," and the study confirms that, said co-author Joseph Robinson, a researcher and assistant professor of educational psychology at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. "In absolute terms, this would suggest that yes, it gets better."


The study appears online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.


Eliza Byard, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, said the results mirror surveys by her anti-bullying advocacy group that show bullying is more common in U.S. middle schools than in high schools.


But the researchers said their results show the situation is more nuanced for young gay men.


In the first years of the study, gay boys and girls were almost twice as likely to be bullied as their straight peers. By the last year, bullying dropped overall and was at about the same level for lesbians and straight girls. But the difference between men got worse by ages 19 and 20, with gay young men almost four times more likely than their straight peers to be bullied.


The mixed results for young gay men may reflect the fact that masculine tendencies in girls and women are more culturally acceptable than femininity in boys and men, Robinson said.


Savage, who was not involved in the study, agreed.


"A lot of the disgust that people feel when you bring up homosexuality ... centers around gay male sexuality," Savage said. "There's more of a comfort level" around gay women, he said.


Kendall Johnson, 21, a junior theater major at the University of Illinois, said he was bullied for being gay in high school, mostly when he brought boyfriends to school dances or football games.


"One year at prom, I had a guy tell us that we were disgusting and he didn't want to see us dancing anymore," Johnson said. A football player and the president of the drama club intervened on his behalf, he recalled.


Johnson hasn't been bullied in college, but he said that's partly because he hangs out with the theater crowd and avoids the fraternity scene. Still, he agreed, that it generally gets better for gays as they mature.


"As you grow older, you become more accepting of yourself," Johnson said.


___


Online:


Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org


It Gets Better: http://www.itgetsbetter.org


___


AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner


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Wall Street opens lower after recent gains


NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday, dipping after a recent rally that took the S&P 500 to a five-year high and the Dow to 14,000 for the first time since October 2007.


The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 58.67 points, or 0.42 percent, at 13,951.12. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was down 6.84 points, or 0.45 percent, at 1,506.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 18.33 points, or 0.58 percent, at 3,160.77.


(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Kenneth Barry)



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IHT Rendezvous: Doctors to Prescribe Self-Help Books, Poetry for Mental Health Ills

LONDON — Doctors in England will soon be prescribing books as well as pills to patients suffering from anxiety and depression.

In a government-endorsed initiative supported by medical associations and librarians, physicians will be sending patients to their local libraries for a range of approved self-help titles targeted at those suffering from mild to moderate mental health problems.

Patients are also being encouraged to turn to what The Bookseller magazine described as “uplifting novels and poetry.”

Extolling the potentially curative powers of literature, the Reading Agency charity quoted research that showed reading reduced stress levels by 67 percent.

The charity, which is a partner in the new Books on Prescription program announced this week, quoted the New England Journal of Medicine as saying reading also cut the risk of dementia by more than a third.

The list of 30 approved self-help titles available on prescription from May includes page-turners like “The Feeling Good Handbook,” “How to Stop Worrying” and “Overcoming Anger and Irritability.”

“There’s growing evidence that shows that self-help reading can help people with certain mental health issues get better,” Miranda McKearney, the Reading Agency’s director said.

The sick often rely on the Internet to search for advice on symptoms and cures that can turn out to be unreliable. Doctors will now be able to write a prescription that gives patients immediate membership to their local library and access to recommended titles.

It is the first so-called bibliotherapy initiative to have received such high-level official backing from health authorities and librarians.

Campaigners for public libraries have applauded the program but worry that not enough is being done to protect the libraries themselves. Last year, 200 libraries were closed and another 300 are reportedly facing closure or being handed over to volunteers this year.

The Reading Agency meanwhile has come up with a core list of Mood-boosting Books designed to promote feeling good.

It includes proven classics such as “The Secret Garden,” by Frances Hodgson Burnett, but also upbeat titles from the likes of Bill Bryson, the best-selling U.S. humorist.

Development of the book prescription idea was paid for by the Arts Council England, which distributes public money to arts projects.

The Reading Agency has applied for funding from the government, which it says spends £14 billion, or $22 billion, a year treating mental health.

So, should sufferers of depression or panic attacks be advised to curl up with a good book? Or is this just a new health fad to find an alternative to costly medication and therapy.

The Reading Project is soliciting suggestions for stress-relieving books at the Twitter hashtag #moodboosting.

If you think there might be something in it, send us your own suggestions for therapeutic reading. And, while you’re at it, let us know any titles that are best avoided when we’re feeling low.

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Can a Robot Clean Your Windows Better Than You Can?






Home robots like the Roomba and the Neato have legions of fans, myself included. They truly make vacuuming a snap. So could a window-washing robot that costs $ 300 do the same – and is it worth the money? The Winbot is coming to market this spring; to find out if it’s worth your hard-earned dollars, I test it out.


How It Works
The Winbot uses suction (in fact, it sounds like a powerful vacuum) to hold itself onto your windows. You plug it in and give it a base charge, but in addition, you run it plugged in to a socket. The internal battery is only there in case the power goes out – so it won’t lose suction while an alarm alerts you to the power outage.






There is a cleaning pad on the front, a squeegee in the center, and a drying pad on the back. You spray cleaning fluid on the front pad; they provide their own brand and strongly advise it over traditional cleaning fluids, which may have ammonia and which they say could damage the Winbot. Once the pads are dirty, you remove them (they affix with Velcro) and toss them in the washing machine.


The Winbot glides along the window, and when it bumps the frame, it turns itself around and edges up the window to eventually go back in the other direction, systematically cleaning in a series of horizontal lines. The higher end model also works on frameless surfaces like mirrors.


[Related: Stupid or Genius: Ten Craziest New Gadgets]


But How Well Does It Clean?
The Winbot did a good job cleaning the inside of my living room windows. It easily handled my kids fingerprints, spots, and general dirt. Outside it did an equally good job, but I did notice later that on a 5’ X 6’ window, it left two horizontal streaks the width of the window. The company says we probably had too much cleaning solution on the pad. They also suggested using the remote control to go back over any streaks and manually clear them. Overall, my hard-to-reach windows were cleaner than they’ve been in years.9673b  uyl ep104 embed Can a Robot Clean Your Windows Better Than You Can?


For really serious dirty build-up on exterior windows, the company suggests giving a preliminary spray down or wash with a rag, letting it dry and then using the Winbot; the small pads can only handle so much dirt.


Is It Worth the Money?
$ 300 gets you the base model (which we tested), and $ 400 gets one that also works on frameless windows and mirrors, and has an extra extension cord for high windows.


For ordinary interior window washing, I’m not sold. It isn’t like a robotic vacuum cleaner where you set it and forget it. You have to spray the pads, place the device on each window, and then detach it to move it to the next window. You have to wash the pads and sometimes follow behind it to get rid of a streak here or there. But for really big and hard-to-reach windows, the Winbot made a lot of sense. It did a better job than I would have done on a ladder. And if I regularly had to pay someone to reach those high windows, the Winbot would pay for itself very quickly.


[Related: Worst Ways to Clean Your TV]


Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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A Visual Guide to the Right and (Oh, So) Wrong Way to Bare Your Midriff







Style News Now





02/01/2013 at 06:00 PM ET











FilmMagic; Getty' StartraksFilmMagic; Getty; Startraks


What made its way on our fashion radar this week? A classic pattern that’s making a strong comeback and a sweater style we haven’t worn since middle school. We expect to see more of these looks at all the various awards season parties and events. What we hope we don’t spot: A certain frock that reveals way too much skin.



Up: Polka Dots. The retro print made a major comeback this week. Emmy Rossum stepped out in a navy-and-white Stop Staring number (it’s just $170!) and Amy Adams slipped into an elegant black-and-white peplum Jenny Packham design.




Up: Cropped Sweaters. We prayed this moment wouldn’t happen but it looks like ab-baring tops are back and celebs like Dakota Fanning, Amanda Seyfried and Jessica Biel are wearing them with everything from skirts to skinnies. If you don’t have a six-pack, pair a shrunken sweater with a high-waisted bottom or layer over a longer shirt like Biel did. 



Down: X-Rated Slits. Actresses take note: Slits that show this much skin are best left for the legs. And that’s why we don’t expect to see stars sporting awkward cleavage slashes like Adrienne Bailon’s anytime soon. (Not to mention party dresses with clunky booties!)


For more on up-and-coming trends, check out our thoughts on furry accents, slits and red accessories.


Tell us: What types of trends are you hoping to see more of on the red carpet? Vote in our poll below! 






–Jennifer Cress


PHOTOS: SEE OUR FAVORITE DRESSES OF AWARDS SEASON — SO FAR!




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New rules aim to get rid of junk foods in schools


WASHINGTON (AP) — Most candy, high-calorie drinks and greasy meals could soon be on a food blacklist in the nation's schools.


For the first time, the government is proposing broad new standards to make sure all foods sold in schools are more healthful.


Under the new rules the Agriculture Department proposed Friday, foods like fatty chips, snack cakes, nachos and mozzarella sticks would be taken out of lunch lines and vending machines. In their place would be foods like baked chips, trail mix, diet sodas, lower-calorie sports drinks and low-fat hamburgers.


The rules, required under a child nutrition law passed by Congress in 2010, are part of the government's effort to combat childhood obesity. While many schools already have improved their lunch menus and vending machine choices, others still are selling high-fat, high-calorie foods.


Under the proposal, the Agriculture Department would set fat, calorie, sugar and sodium limits on almost all foods sold in schools. Current standards already regulate the nutritional content of school breakfasts and lunches that are subsidized by the federal government, but most lunchrooms also have "a la carte" lines that sell other foods. Food sold through vending machines and in other ways outside the lunchroom has never before been federally regulated.


"Parents and teachers work hard to instill healthy eating habits in our kids, and these efforts should be supported when kids walk through the schoolhouse door," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.


Most snacks sold in school would have to have less than 200 calories. Elementary and middle schools could sell only water, low-fat milk or 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice. High schools could sell some sports drinks, diet sodas and iced teas, but the calories would be limited. Drinks would be limited to 12-ounce portions in middle schools and to 8-ounce portions in elementary schools.


The standards will cover vending machines, the "a la carte" lunch lines, snack bars and any other foods regularly sold around school. They would not apply to in-school fundraisers or bake sales, though states have the power to regulate them. The new guidelines also would not apply to after-school concessions at school games or theater events, goodies brought from home for classroom celebrations, or anything students bring for their own personal consumption.


The new rules are the latest in a long list of changes designed to make foods served in schools more healthful and accessible. Nutritional guidelines for the subsidized lunches were revised last year and put in place last fall. The 2010 child nutrition law also provided more money for schools to serve free and reduced-cost lunches and required more meals to be served to hungry kids.


Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has been working for two decades to take junk foods out of schools. He calls the availability of unhealthful foods around campus a "loophole" that undermines the taxpayer money that helps pay for the healthier subsidized lunches.


"USDA's proposed nutrition standards are a critical step in closing that loophole and in ensuring that our schools are places that nurture not just the minds of American children but their bodies as well," Harkin said.


Last year's rules faced criticism from some conservatives, including some Republicans in Congress, who said the government shouldn't be telling kids what to eat. Mindful of that backlash, the Agriculture Department exempted in-school fundraisers from federal regulation and proposed different options for some parts of the rule, including the calorie limits for drinks in high schools, which would be limited to either 60 calories or 75 calories in a 12-ounce portion.


The department also has shown a willingness to work with schools to resolve complaints that some new requirements are hard to meet. Last year, for example, the government relaxed some limits on meats and grains in subsidized lunches after school nutritionists said they weren't working.


Schools, the food industry, interest groups and other critics or supporters of the new proposal will have 60 days to comment and suggest changes. A final rule could be in place as soon as the 2014 school year.


Margo Wootan, a nutrition lobbyist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said surveys by her organization show that most parents want changes in the lunchroom.


"Parents aren't going to have to worry that kids are using their lunch money to buy candy bars and a Gatorade instead of a healthy school lunch," she said.


The food industry has been onboard with many of the changes, and several companies worked with Congress on the child nutrition law two years ago. Major beverage companies have already agreed to take the most caloric sodas out of schools. But those same companies, including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, also sell many of the non-soda options, like sports drinks, and have lobbied to keep them in vending machines.


A spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association, which represents the soda companies, says they already have greatly reduced the number of calories that kids are consuming at school by pulling out the high-calorie sodas.


___


Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick


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India Ink: Five Accused in New Delhi Gang Rape Case Plead Not Guilty

The five men accused in a brutal  gang rape that led to nationwide protests entered not guilty pleas on Saturday to the 13 charges filed against them.

The charges  —  including gang rape, murder, kidnapping and conspiracy  —  stem from the Dec. 16 rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student who later died from her injuries. Reports of the attack led to days of protests in India over the treatment of women.

A trial for the five suspects  —  Ram Singh, Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur  — is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Saket District Court Complex in New Delhi.

V.K. Anand, defense counsel for the brothers Ram Singh and Mukesh Singh, said in a telephone interview that “All the five accused have pleaded not guilty.”

“The charges being framed is one thing,” Mr. Anand said,  “but proving the charges is another.”

Pretrial arguments for the five suspects were completed on Wednesday. On Monday, the sixth suspect was declared officially a juvenile by the Indian Juvenile Justice Board, meaning the maximum sentence he could receive is three years in a detention facility.

If they are convicted, the five on trial could face the death penalty. The Supreme Court dismissed a plea to transfer the New Delhi gang rape trial outside the city on Tuesday. The trial, which is being carefully watched by the country, has brought about renewed debate on the challenges facing the Indian legal system.

According to the local news channel IBN Live, 86 witnesses will appear at the trial.

Pamposh Raina contributed to this post.

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